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Topic: A few pics of my TBH (Read 4158 times)

Finally I have made a TBH. I live in an apartment in Oslo, Norway, and have very little space for storing hive parts. A TBH therefore seemed as a fun way of starting beekeeping since it requires very little storage. As I live in a relatively cold climate, I chose to insulate the hive with 2cm styrofoam. Here is the hive:

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A few little things are still to be done, like making a screened bottom, but it is as good as finished. More pictures can be seen here

Now I just need to find a place to place the hive, and a somewhere to buy some bees before the spring next year is here :-) I am REALLY looking forward to this as I hve been reading a lot about beekeeping the last 4-5 years. I feel more than ready to get my first hive started up :-)

The one photo in your collection has something that looked like a headboard and I suddendly thought how much it looks like a pinball machine - if you ever need to descuise it, I like the Terminator Pinball the best :) Great photos, every one.

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Yepp, built it myself :-) I've been quite busy with a newborn in the house :-) Before that we moved and there were busy times at work. Lars is now 11 weeks old, and things are settling down again, and am beginning to use more time on the Internet again. I've been reading here at the forum almost every day, though :-) I have learned a lot, and still are, by reading posts here at the forum.

The one photo in your collection has something that looked like a headboard and I suddendly thought how much it looks like a pinball machine - if you ever need to descuise it, I like the Terminator Pinball the best :) Great photos, every one.

I love the new hive,so nice to finally be ready for bees!A great big hello to you and your family,can't wait to see the time Lars is helping Dad with the bees.(Not rushing things,It happens too fast anyhow!)Great pics!

I based the deign loosely on the design found at http://www.§¤«£¿æ.com/I changed the measurements a bit so I can fasten standard norwegian frames to the top bars and make that fit into the hive which makes it easier to start up the hive. It is not common to order bees in the mail in Norway as it is in the US. Here the normal way to buy bees is to buy some frames with bees, and I wanted to be able to make use of the frames in the startup of the hive. Later I can move them sideways and when there is no more brood on the left, I can remove them all together.

The hive at §¤«£¿æ have three holes on one side in the middle, and one at the end on the other side. This makes it possible to have a split/nuc at one end which is very practical for swarm control. In the suggested way to do this was to turn the hive around 180 degrees to make the field bees fly in to the split/nuc and then later turn the hive around again. This seemed very impractical to me, so I made 7 holes on each side. Normally I will use the three in the middle on one side, but with holes on both sides, I can make the arrangement for the split/nuc by closing the three holes on the one side, and then open up the three on the other. This way I don't have to turn the hive around, this on the cost of increased construction time.

After I made the hive, a friend of mine refered me to a page mentioning some problems with a too large area for the brood. My hive is around 50cm on top and 35cm on the bottom. That is bigger than most of the TBHs i suppose. The reason was, again, to be able to put in standard norwegian frames. A problem I might get is that the comb will be too heavy, or that the bees won't use all the space. Maybe I will add a vertical beam in the middle of each bar to give the bees something more to fasten the comb to. Would it be a good idea to attach those right away?

I was starting to wonder if I would ever see the day when you would have bees. This is a great step toward that and there is no turning back now :-D

I really like the straps holding the lid down. I've been looking to do something similar with mine as I just use a piece of metal roofing for a top. But after 3 years, I still just pile rocks on top :roll:

Good luck and keep us posted. Hope things are going well with Lars and mom.

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"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

I guess we where posting at the same time, so I didn't see your explanation and question.

I guess great minds think alike. The first TBHs I built I designed to be able to fit a standard Langstroth frame suspended from the top bar, so I could move a nuc into it and slowly migrate out the Langstroth frames as they drew their own comb. I also built them big enough to do a split and have one on each side. In fact I built feeders that went into the middle and I introduced a nuc into each side and wintered all 4 successfully. One has entrances on the bottom and the other has them on top.

As far as size, I just did a rough conversion and mine is like 56cm wide and 38cm deep, so roughly the same size as yours. I had no problem with the comb, new comb is very easy to damage, but once they raise a few cycles of brood in it it stiffens right up. The biggest thing you have to remember is never try twisting or flipping the frames while inspecting, if you always leave them hanging, you should have no problems. That was the hardest thing for me because I'm use to looking at one side of a Langstroth frame and then inverting it to inspect the other side. The best thing to do is build yourself a frame stand so when you remove a frame, you set it in the stand and then inspect both sides. I don't have any pictures of the deep frames handy, but if I get a chance, I'll try to take some this weekend.

This is from my barrel TBHs, not the deep ones, but you can get the idea of the frame holder.

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"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

I was starting to wonder if I would ever see the day when you would have bees. This is a great step toward that and there is no turning back now :-D

I did too :-) I am pretty sure I am the oldest member here at the forum that still has no bees. Not a record I hoped to get when I joined the forum three years ago. But now as I have used a lot of time making my first hive, there really is no way back :-)

I really like the straps holding the lid down. I've been looking to do something similar with mine as I just use a piece of metal roofing for a top. But after 3 years, I still just pile rocks on top :roll:

They were very cheap in a shop here in Norway I guess is quite similar to Home Depot that I have heard mentioned here several times.

Thanks for your comment on the measurements of my hive. I hope it will turn out ok :-) I read on a webpage somewhere about one that had bees that didn't want to draw out more than half the bar's width. He had used the size equal to a hive an other person living elsewere in a colder climate had that didn't have these problems. They thought the reason was the colder climate. I have no idea if that could be the case. To be honest I thought it seemed a bit odd, and what came to my mind was that could be just reasonable that the type of bees could matter. Anyhow I have about the same measurements, and I was a bit worried it was a bit too big, but as you have had success with yours that are about the same size (and our climates are not that different) I am much more optimistic now :-)

Good luck and keep us posted. Hope things are going well with Lars and mom.

Thanks. Everything is fine. As he is getting older, we are getting more of a routine and he is now sleeping a couple of times each day, and are much more happy lying on a carpet. That's a big difference from the first weeks :-) We are enjoying being parents more for each day.

eivindm. I am happy that you are almost ready for the bees, your hive looks awesome. Good for you. Have a wonderful day, welcome to the world of parenting and bees, enjoy the child and bees. Cindi

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There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold. The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee. Robert Service

Thanks eivindm for the link to the plans on the TBH. I will build one over the winter months an have it ready for next spring...Hope the little one is doing fine along with mom an dad. have a great day.

Thanks eivindm for the link to the plans on the TBH. I will build one over the winter months an have it ready for next spring...

In addition to looking at the plans at §¤«£¿æ, I also bought the e-book "§¤«£¿æ" at the same website. There were no revolutionary news in there as I have read much of the same other places, but I think it was a good text for a first time TBH beekeeper like me, and I think it was well worth the 11 dollars or so I payed for it. Experienced beekeepers that also have read a lot about TBHs other places may not find it worth the money though.

Thanks eivindm for the link to the plans on the TBH. I will build one over the winter months an have it ready for next spring...

In addition to looking at the plans at §¤«£¿æ, I also bought the e-book "§¤«£¿æ" at the same website. There were no revolutionary news in there as I have read much of the same other places, but I think it was a good text for a first time TBH beekeeper like me, and I think it was well worth the 11 dollars or so I payed for it. Experienced beekeepers that also have read a lot about TBHs other places may not find it worth the money though.

That §¤«£¿æ ebook is very good read. It is almost "all at one place" and very good reference ! It is sure well worth the money !

Considering info that §¤«£¿æ gives for free ( how to build tbh ) and time he put into this I think every tbh maniac who built tbh using §¤«£¿æ plans should buy the book also :D

Just adding one more thing about the e-book mentioned here: To be fair about the book, it is not just a book about starting with TBH beekeeping. It is just as much about a new beekeeping philosophy based on the premises of nature and the bees itself. It states that modern beekeeping is much to blame for the spreading of diseases and so on, and that the condition of the bees can be improved by changing the way we keep them. It was just as interesting as the direct info about TBH and worth the money alone. Happy reading :-)